![[0061] A Hell Of A Drug](http://www.sandraandwoo.com/comics/2009-05-21-[0061]-a-hell-of-a-drug.png "[0061] A Hell Of A Drug")
The current story arc started with this strip: Addicted.
If you think that this story is too far out there, then you are mistaken. It is loosely based on a true story which took place at an American school in the 1990s. I will give more information about that after the publication of the last strip of the arc, since telling it now would ruin half of the fun.
- Teacher: What kind of drug is this?
- Larisa: … Insulin, duh.
- Teacher: Oh…
- Teacher: … my God! You’re taking this horrible stuff?
- Larisa: I don’t like where this is going.
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Plot twist!
Haha, it would be an American school. Why does that not surprise me.
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Aaaaaaah. I really don’t get why the teacher would suspect that…
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Ah America… home of idiocy…
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I don’t particularly appreciate the “America is sooo stupid” hits. Most people know what insulin is HOWEVER. You are not permitted to use medication without a note and even then you could only use it in the nurse’s room(Unless its an inhaler but definitely not a syringe). Seriously though. I know how we look when we do things that don’t seem bright, But show a little respect for the Americans that aren’t stupid.
Gratuitous insults notwithstanding this comic is quite the fun read.
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let it go everyone (including those who haven’t posted but want to). just enjoy the strip. that’s why it’s here.
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I hope that teacher never gets diabetes. Some people don’t understand or insensitive to people with an illness. Or at least till they get sick. This teacher seem to know about a new medical break through in medical science on diabetes that would help. As an anmerican. I’d say it screwed up. But anywhere there’s human influence there’s bound to be ploblems!!!!!!! I turn on the news, there’s trouble in the U.k. Africa, Australia,mexico,and other placesni didn’t mention! We just can’t or won’t get along!
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Ah, my beloved homeland, where science takes a back seat to political expediency. >sigh<
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Considering that I’ve read stories about schools where students were expelled for carrying aspirin, this comic actually seems rather tame.
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I approve of the edit, considering we also suspected insulin, and know it’s not horrible stuff.
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Sandra saw trouble coming and vanished from the bench.
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Your public education system at work
(Hey look! This one isn’t America bashing, just government bashing!)
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I know didn’t expect the comments, but all people have idiocy sometimes, i just find the thought funny if the teacher taught biology.
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Something like this actually happened at our high school. (A parocial one for boys) It seems the student forgot to submit a note about his illness even though he wore an emergency medical alert bracelet. Teacher caught him injecting the insulin while sitting in a bathroom stall. Teacher thought “insulin” was a new street name for heroin. Student went to the principle’s office and after a few phone calls, the teacher had to apologize to the student.
Just a sidenote, the student still got detention for failing to submit the required medical form.
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Childhood diabetes is an awful thing. Once saw a kid go into insulin shock. It’s bad enough for adults
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Tyron, that teacher will probably not get diabetes because she is a drawing, drawings can’t get diseases only real people can, i learned that in medical school
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making us wait until you reveal the tru story of Teacher incompetence only takes from the mystique of the Sandra Story.
@Cairn Destop I wouldn’t be surprised if that was an actual legitimate street name for heroin, but that still doesn’t make ignorance acceptable.
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I like the comic strip, and I don’t mind the American bashing–even though I am one. If you can’t laugh at yourself, who you can you laugh at? Misunderstandings happen all the time, just roll with it I say. Although some people do get too wound up over insignificant events.
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I was rather annoyed by the protrayal in “The Triplets of Belleville” of all USAians (except gangsters) as immensely obese. It’s not true; and even though i am considered extremely obese, i ain’t that fat.
That said, we do have a problem with our image overseas in a lot of ways, and certainly the recently departed ruling junta in Washington had a lot to do with it’s getting worse the last eight or so years.
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This does sound familiar, and I seem to recall think they were stupid back then… Lately it’s been teachers ripping out insulin pumps.
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Well the new thing for some people with diabetes are insulin pumps, bad thing is that they look like pagers. I was going to school when we got a sub she did know that i had a note, so when I did my finger stick for lunch break and needed to take some insulin for lunch she saw and thought i was checking a pager, needless to say she escorted me to the office where the head guy of the school district was just starting his review of the school. Needless to say she got fired, he had one to, so who’s the stupid one here?
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@BONER JACKSON *ROFL!* My name is spelled without an “e”! Why does the little girl has it?! I heard that diabetes is considered a genetic flaw cause I HAVE DIABETES AND WOULDN’T CARE TO SEE ANYONE ELSE WITH IT! (even drawings) See what I mean!? *ROFL!* Thanks!
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Funny, but I’m reading that the teacher ‘got’ what was going on, but decided to play along and send Larisa in for being a smart-ass. Sound plausible?
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@Bartimaeus: actually, after hearing you say that, panels 2 and 3 make a lot more sense – either that, or she thinks Sandra’s friend is simply shooting insulin for fun or something.
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Reviewer: “Lucy, what can you tell me about the dead tree in ‘The Secret Garden’?”
Lucy: “I’ve never been in there.” Reviewer: ?
Teacher: “You can trust Lucy on this.” Reviewer: ????
The reviewer goes to the principal and describes Lucy’s and the teacher’s answers.
Principal: “I’m sure none of our students had anything to do with it, but I’ll pay for planting a new tree.”
—
I think Sandra is off alerting her dad, as the principal probably won’t help.
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This sounds really similar to something that happened at my own high school earlier this year… a guy got expelled for having prescription meds that he NEEDED, without proper documentation in the office, and these two girls overheard him joking about the medication with a friend (pretty much like Larisa and Sandra in the last strip) and they blabbed on him…
Looking forward to see how this story turns out, though
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I believe the edit was for the best. Sure sounds like is either clueless or identifying with some sort of street name.
Then again, there ARE a ton of street names out there. Reminded of this one radio ad about a mom appraoching her son with this conversation, “I heard that they are going to start drug testing in your school. So, have you been using heroin? *son* No. *mom* Marijuana? *son, slightly smart mouthed.* No. *mom* Mexican Speed Balls, snort… (and the commercial fades out the audio, hinting that she lists a million more drug names.) *son, pausing.* Ummm…maybe???”
Just remember, kids…”Winners don’t do drugs.” As seen on darn near any arcade video game splash screen.
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Oh hey, look. American public schools be retarded. What else is new? 8D
And before someone jumps me, I attended public school for a grand total of two and a half years before I moved to private institutions and then home schooling. When you’re constantly harassed by kids twice your size, and no one does anything about it, it’s time to go somewhere else.
I’m American, but I haven’t been proud of that since… Oh, I can’t even remember when I was proud of being American. A little sad, hmm?
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@Aaron(swifteye) -Nicely put.
Can’t say I’ve been too proud of how things tend to go on in this country,with that said I really do not cared to be grouped with the idiots who make everyone else in said country look and.
Anyway,I too look forward to the conclusion of this story arc and as to what inspired it.
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wow a grand total of 2.5 years. not sayin that they cant be stupid or anything, but what did you do to stop the bullying? and that alone shouldnt make you unproud of being an american. its kinda a stupid reason. and in regards to the first few comments, not all americans are stupid, however the MAJORITY of the human race is, wether it be America, China, or anywhere else on this planet.
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That’s no teacher. She’s only a professor.
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Ah! Another example of how people today love to criticize another persons hard work.
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If it helps, the place where the actual incident he’s basing this story on took place in Arkansas. I know, because he got the story from me.
So if you want to see it as America bashing, you’re a bit off. Arkansas bashing, however, is perfectly justified. I lived there for 15 years, and you really can’t bash the place enough.
Sadly, they do have the best state park system anywhere, which is why I continue to go there for camping and such.
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Hmm, my sister has got diabetes, and her device used to take insulin (not a insulin pump) looks, reeaaly different from a syringe, so she never had any problems with it…
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Most people are intelligent enough.
It’s society that’s a fuxing moron.
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My school’s teachers would definitely do this.
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I like “Just as I suspected” better.
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Shouldn’t the clearly labled sealed containers have tipped off the teacher?
To be fair, the teacher could simply be unfamiliar with diabetes; I suspect many teachers do not get “non-illlegal things that resemble illegal things” training.
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As a product of the American public school meat-grinder, I can say with authority that yes–they ARE this bad, the people running them ARE this stupid and this is NOT an exaggeration by any stretch.
If Larisa were in my high school, she’d have been expelled on the spot. It’s also likely the police would have gotten involved.
And no–most people aren’t intelligent enough. Most people are idiots–think about how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are worse.
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My first impression when I read the third panel was that she was some kind’ve carzy who hates all non-herbal medicine, thinking anything not provided by nature is automatically bad. I have had teachers try and force those kinds of personal beliefs on me and my fellow students when I was in school and college.
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yall sure do whine alot about stuff. enjoy the comic and quit whining. whiners.
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I remember one story about how a 13 year old girl got stripped searched for cold medicine.
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There’s a good reason zero-tolerance policies, even of matters which on the surface make sense, are a bad thing.
They remove from the enforcers any need to assess the situation and determine the egregiousness of the offense. It may well be that the student breaking a policy may not have intended to do so (perhaps Mom’s cutlery accidentally got left in the truck when Junior drove it to campus..) and thus is not deserved of a heavy hand like another student who intentionally flaunts policy.
And not all American schools are havens of stupidity, although I have no doubt it is more common than it ought to be. There is truth to most stereotypes, and so I look forward to seeing how this storyline goes.
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I’d like to add to the chorus that says, “Yes, people this stupid are in charge of American children’s education.” A few personal anecdotes:
In second grade, a teacher screamed at me in front of her class for not being able to read after I asked her how to play the game she’d just given me- as a reward for good grades.
In ninth grade, I got my first and only set of demerits for wearing shorts that were too short- they were in compliance with the old rule, which was fingertip length, but the new rule was distributed in gym classes (which I had dropped in favor of band and phys ed elective for reasons you can probably guess) was that or 5 inches above the knee, and I was tall enough back then that I couldn’t find shorts like that made for anyone except old ladies. That there, wouldn’t have been so bad if the cheerleader hadn’t walked by as soon as I came out of the office with her butt cheeks hanging out the bottoms of her shorts.
Finally, my senior year, my family had got a cell phone (a fact that makes me feel incredibly old). I had it that day because I had an academic team meet, and I needed to let my parents know who I was riding with and where to pick me up. I made my arrangements during the day and stepped outside to call my parents after class had ended. The principal saw me, and if it wasn’t for some very fast action by my academic team coach, I would have got suspended under the zero-tolerance policy for drug dealing. Because apparently nefarious drug dealers use cell phones to call their parents and let them know where they’ll be in the evening.
Only looking back on it now can I see how messed up it really was, and it’s only gotten worse in the eight years I’ve been out. School isn’t school anymore- it’s pre-incarceration.
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I actually have to side with the teacher, this technically is the right AND SMART thing to do. Yes insulin is important for diabetics, but in the safety interests of all students it should have been administered at the school’s clinic. I’ve actually witnessed a poor kid get his needles taken away by a school bully (that couldn’t have ended well). The schools I’ve attended have been very understanding and offer to hold the student’s supply of insulin safe for them to come in any time if they need their shot.
I’m hoping this school has as smart of a principalas mine did.
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A girl got strip searched not too long ago to prove she had Ibuprofen. This is real.
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I guess Larisa will not get expelled, because the principal will feel lenient and send her to detention… with the real bad boys of the school. Then the teacher supposed to monitor the kids will leave to do some stuff elsewhere and lock them in together.
Scared yet?
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I thought the strip was funny. Why all the hub-bub people?
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@tink:
A few years back, my local high school was going through a very expensive remodel. We’re talking state of the art buildings with actual levels, hallways and A/C. Courtyards that could rival colleges. Security cameras; the whole nine yards. Included were “miles” of fences (both permanent and temporary) that for the better part of a couple years, left the whole place looking like a prison over a school. The construction of the clock tower didn’t help counter that impression one bit.
@James:
And, yes. American schooling is not what it used to be. But, it gets it’s students through the system. And, the way the job environment is going, every American is *suppose* to proceed on to college to learn the “good stuff”.
If there’s doubt about how great America truly is, then there’s always a great deal of places on Earth to move to…that’ll drive the notion like a hammer into what you didn’t even realize you had.
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In context, I can see why some would side with the teacher or Larisa here, but to be honest, both are in the wrong AND right.
The teacher is right to be angry over the use of insulin here, but only because it’s on school grounds, and NOT in the nurses office, or whatever room the school designates. But it sounds more like said teacher is angry Larisa is using insulin on school grounds, period – a sure-fire way to loose their job. Schools have the right to dictate WHERE you can use a medical drug, but the IF and WHEN are dictated by the students doctor, and given to the school on a note, not the school or it’s nurse.
Teachers are normally informed when they have a diabetic student as well nowadays, quite possibly because of the said 1990’s story. It’s not like it’s hard to get said information anymore – between the ‘net and the American Diabetes Association, you can get more than enough information in a very short time.
Larisa, on the other hand, should probably have known better. Even if she’s submitted a note to the school from her doctor, there’s still normally a designated location in the building for the use of medical-drugs. In a sane world, the end result would be phone calls, apology, detention for Larisa for one day, ect.
… not that the worlds even remotely sane to begin with, lol.
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The hub-bub is more friendly discussion than angry rant that I can see.
And I can see where it might be prudent to take cautionary action where needle-injected drugs are concerned, although a teacher ought to be aware of the necessity of some students to use injected insulin.
I would also side with minor punishment (like a day of detention) for the failure of a diabetic student to notify the school of their needs and work with nurses to take care of those needs.
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This and the previous strip remind me of the girl who years ago was suspended for taking doctor-perscribed birth control pills in school in America. This is exactly why we criticize our public school system. The severe knee-jerk reactions to something like this, and yet with the multiple death threats, blogs, and so on, from the perpetrators of the Culombine school shooting went unheeded and all but ignored.
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I don’t see this strip as America bashing. Silly situations are worthy fare for this medium regardless of where they occur. We Americans make sport of ourselves and our leaders often, hence conservative talk radio.
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While I understand the concern about sharps, a student with those kinds of problems can’t exactly plan to be near the nurse’s office or designated room if their insulin level drops suddenly, just like be near wherever his epipen is stored should he get stung by a bee, or accidentally eat some shrimp, or be exposed to whatever causes him to need it- seconds count with that. Heaven forbid, also, that she’s in a class run by someone following the same policies as my senior year physics teacher, who used to penalize us class points for needing to go to the bathroom.
Again, only with some distance can I see how messed up it all is.
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And sadly, this is very much the truth. Although I have never stepped foot inside a public school below college, (aside from taking my GED), I keep hearing local and the occasional national story of some sort of stupidity or indoctrination from the school system.
I currently reside in SC and yes, our schools are as bad as you have heard, matters I suspect have only gotten worse in the recent years.
And to touch on the bully issue. It is FAR FAR FAR more of a matter than what most people think. I have been bullied for most of my life, including in a “christian” ministry where people KNEW it was going on and did abosolutely NOTHING. Why should public schools be any different.
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It doesn’t sound like the teacher is complaining about WHERE Larissa is taking the insulin. It sounds like she’s complaining that she’s taking it AT ALL. “This horrible stuff,” she says.
Sorry, but insulin is not “horrible stuff”. It’s life-giving stuff. It’s a necessary life-chemical, without which, we all would die, but a diabetic would die even faster.
My goddaughter died at 16 because of complications from Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes. She just didn’t wake up one morning. Her Dad, one of my best friends, died almost a year later to the day, though I think it was more from a broken heart than anything else. I’ve got Type 2 myself, and my Mom is insulin dependent.
The issues of bullies taking needles is somewhat relevant. Fine. Get the kid a “Bones McCoy” “jet” injector (yes, they exist). Then there’s no needles to steal. They aren’t for everyone, but they do work. Or use an insulin pen — you can’t repurpose the syringe, so it isn’t worth stealing. I suppose it could be stolen just to be a jerk, but a bully could steal your shirt to be a jerk. Can’t ban carrying *everything* just because a bully might take it. I had a bully take my gym shoes and throw them on a phone wire. Gonna ban gym shoes?
I’m deathly allergic to seafood. Not just eating it, but anything that might have seafood products in it, like anchovy paste or fish oil. Sometimes all it takes is having been cooked in the same pan. Aspartame also makes my throat close up, and that crap’s in EVERYTHING. So I have an epipen. If I were a kid with these allergies nowadays, I could die before a school nurse got my medications to me.
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Most recreational drugs are also substances our bodies produce naturally. That is why they are effective. The problem is that by going to an outside source, our bodies start relying on that outside source and may stop producing it naturally. There is also the “too much of a good thing” concept.
None of this applies for insulin and diabetic students, of course, because insulin does not produce a high effect, and the diabetic’s body is already unable to create enough of it.
Some noteworthy points on the epipen, and the potential need to access a needed drug in a hurry.
I do have to ask though, why would a high-school-aged girl need a prescription to birth control pills?
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Birth control pills, or rather, estrogen/progesterone pills can be used to help regulate severely painful and irregular menstrual cycles. They can also be helpful in cases of things like endometriosis.
But if she were taking them for that she would’ve been able to take them at home. So the high school girl was getting it on with a guy too cheap and lazy to use condoms.
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I would like to point out to all of the ‘America-bashers’ that the same thing happens ridiculously often on my side of the pond as well. And I often hear stories of it happening on the continent. It’s just that America’s so much bigger, it happens more often. So the average American is probably no dumber than the average Englishman, but the sheer numbers make it look that way.
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I am an American student. I have a lot of friends who have medical conditions. It is far worse than just with insulin. One of my friends who is asthmatic was almost severely punished for having his rescue inhaler with him because “NPS policy states that all drugs must be in the nurses office with a note!” Luckily the administration and the security team realized that it would probably not be a good idea for an asthma patient to be in gym while his rescue inhaler was on the other side of the school.
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@Liz- nice blaming the victim there. Way to go. Does it make you feel better to put down someone who might have a medical problem?
Full disclosure: I’m one of those people who take BC for ovarian cysts. They hurt, and they’ve sent me to the hospital more than once, including into the OR.
Birth control pills are supposed to be taken at the same time every day, and some people’s bodies are just that sensitive to changes in hormones. My guess is she was late when she started that week on a Sunday, and she wanted to not screw up her body any more. And even if, as you so nicely put it, she “was getting it on with a guy”, it could have been taken at home anyway. And even if she was, isn’t not being a pregnant teen a good thing? Wasn’t she doing what she was supposed to do?
If you are a bit confused at the moment just wait for the next strip(s) which will resolve one or two possible open questions. A few seem to have missed the point completely, though.
I think it should be clear that this strip/storyline is not meant to bash America. Ridiculous things happen in every country. But how am I supposed to make fun of the Italian garbage disposal system, for example, if my comic is set in the north of the United States?
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Good comic, always fun to make fun of stupid people, and unfortunately, state-run, compulsory, union-dominated schools – and, well, any industry/service, really – becomes bloated with incompetent idiots. So do private companies, but at least those have a profit margin to consider, so they fire the really stupid ones. But government doesn’t care, it’s a massive, bloated bureaucracy that only serves to ensure you follow the process, without ensuring that the process actually helps you.
And this is the same kind of system people want to make for our health care? Where you wait in lines and have your procedures overseen by some incompetent boob like this (mythical but based on real life) teacher who will ask do you really, really need that lung transplant? I mean, it will take a lot out of the budget and we really wanted to get a new plasma screen TV for the lounge. Stop being so selfish!
*Rolls eyes, goes back to clinging to guns and religion, and dares you to come and get them*
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…this actually sounds like what happened to me way back in the 5th grade. i was on ritalin, the school staff knew about it, and i was allowed to keep the bottle of pills on me since i only needed to take’em at lunch…. some idiot substitute tried to claim i was dealing drugs one day because i had the pill bottle out, and was about to take my dose. the best part is… the sub was my sub that day, and should have known that i was on medication already.
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@ Rokas. They already do. It’s called Health Insurance.
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People, its a humor based comic. You all need to chill out and just enjoy the strip for what it is. A comic strip.
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@Tink: Exactly, only Insurance can deny you coverage for preexisting conditions that they’ll, oh my gosh, HAVE TO PAY FOR! The problem with insuance is that it is a business, and businesses want to make money. A business based on the idea of giving its customers money under certain conditions (insurance) is basically taking money from people who don’t run into a lot of problems and giving it to people who do, just like the government will do, only without all this denying preexisting condition crap.
Here’s a sobering thought for everyone: Greed kills people everyday and everywhere, not just in war-time or on the battlefield.
My apologies to the Knörzers, I just really hate people who think competitve business policies can solve everything. I love your strip
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Celtath, thank you for pointing out the painfully obvious. You get one gold star.
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I wonder if you set it in Michigan, Alaska, or Vermont. of course it could be Montana , Washington, or Nebraska. I’d be skeptical if it was set in New York or New Jersey…although since it’s rural the story could just as easily be set in Indiana.
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where are they???
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@Tink
Since it’s infinitely easier to take those pills first thing in the morning or last thing at night, I figured she’d do so if she could. Especially given her school’s insane drug policies.
Since she had the pills at school instead of at home, I thought perhaps she was hiding them from her parents. So she was taking them to prevent pregnancy and the hormones weren’t to her benefit. And frequently when there’s a woman messing up her body with those hormones, there’s a guy who should be buying condoms.
Again, as I’ve already said, the hormones are GOOD for people with certain conditions. For people without those conditions, the hormones can do a real number on the endocrine system.
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I’ve heard of things like this and argued with others about it.. Some schools take zero tolerance very seriously even carrying Tynol will get you expelled
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The line “you’re taking THIS horrible stuff?” implies that the teacher has some issue with the particular type of insulin, where as “Just as I suspected!” shows that she is pissed at insulin to begin with.
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My reading of the teacher’s reaction is not that she’s unaware that insulin is for a medical condition, rather that she doesn’t want to admit that she made a mistake (and maybe is hoping to gain some brownie points for anti-drugs vigilance) and so is creating an artificial hullaballoo over it.
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smart americans getting angry cause of stupid americans are stupid
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I wondered what Insulin was… now I know.
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Being a type 1 diabetic, I can tell you that you’d be surprised how many people’s first reaction is “Oh my God! That ten year old is doing drugs in the middle of a crowded restaurant!” When I was in high school, it was easier to sneak off campus to take my insulin than it was to deal with school policy. Bravo for another pertinent topic.